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car had had a bump when i first had it on the road and the back panel was starting to go rusty so that was cut off along the bumper line then a replacement welded in my first go at welding on the car and was a steep learning curve. the welding i was fine with as i do a fair bit at work. but making panels and the like took a while to get the hang of mind you id get plenty of practice in the years to come. apart from that the car was just sitting there as i was saving for a decent road car.

spent most of 2013 sat in the garage feeling sorry for itself until then end of the year when i finally got it mot and taxed in the november.

i was also buying bits to build a decent xflow. money was tight so the car sat not doing much. 2014

spent most of the early part of 2014 sat in the garage until a local event at nissan car factory the wearside classic in september.

id entered with my girlfriend on the maps. it was classed as an autotest but was more like what you would call a targa rally now, various tests throughout the day all on tarmac. i was praying for rain all week but when the day dawned bright and sunny i new id be in for a struggle the little 1300 would be struggling all day plus id never done an event like this sliding around cones etc so thought it would be a slow start. my girlfriend jess had never really done anthing on the maps before hand either but she was very good once she got her confindence up.

all week i had been having a an intermittent missfire but couldnt find what was causing it and it returned through scrutineering even though the car passed without a hitch i wasnt happy it woudnt pull cleanly so the first loop of tests werent very good but no mistakes and we carried on. after the first loop the car wouldn't start by now i had worked out the alternator wasnt charging no light on the dash but a quick check found it running on 11 volts. bugger. into the next set of test i managed the first on but waiting in the que then engine cut out and wouldnt restart and as we were last in the que there wasnt even anyone to swap batteries with.

so that was that but a friendly marshal towed us home and wouldnt even accept any money off us.

but sitting in waiting to be recovered was nice

sick of breaking alternators (running spotlights etc and revving the engine to death on road rallies meant the lucas ones never lasted long) i looked into replacing it with a more modern one. eventually settling on using bosch ones from a ford ka 70 amp output and i got three off ebay for ten pound each. still on the first one now you have to change the standard escort plug to ring terminals but worthwhile upgrade

that was it for 2014 apart from using it on the road think i did one 12 car road rally that didnt go well when my dad started to fee ill after only the 2nd time control so we called it a night but were first to the after rally buffet which felt like a win

Re: my road rally mk2

[U]2015[U]

car went back into the garage for some upgrades. GavinR on here modded me a handbrake to make it flyoff and i fitted a hydraulic cylinder to it plus some 3litre capri drums plus got some uprated brake shoes and fitted them.

this was finished just in time for a local event a tranwell woods very local to me being about 2 miles up the road. using the works van and trailer saved me having to mot and tax it and plus would be good if it broke again

id entered along with my dad who was also driving in his mk2 and we were navigating for each other.

was a brilliant day finished somewhere in the mid teens after a few penalties. the new handbrake setup was working really well and i couldnt stop myself from using it n every corner. managed to turn a set of newish knobblies into slicks as well.

brilliant day.

did a few more 12 cars that were held on a wednesday night normally one a week. did ok but they are made tricky for the nav and my nav david was a little bit rusty having not done anything for a few years so took a bit of time to knock the rust off.

then returned to tranwell for the event being ran again in october.

this time id entered with my mate michael who had always wanted to have a go out in the mk2 and as you were allowed to to walk the tests first i was sure we could go the right way even if he wasnt

in the end we had a good skid around was hurting from laughing so much. michael didnt really give me much direction as he was either laughing or squealing but we finished in the mid teens again. low power and being against some properly good people who do a lot of auto testing were my main excuses......got some good pictures though

then returned to nissan again to try and see if we could have a better result. my dad was sitting in with me and was worrying about being sick. i was more worried about breaking down again so once again took the car on the trailer.

once again my rain dance didnt work so it was a nice clear day.

started off well, dad directing me well and the car felt good. the good handling making up for a lack of power. but the last test before lunch we started having trouble with the diff not locking and spinning the inside wheel. still we finished the day and made good use of the handbrake to wreck some more tyres.

that was it apart from driving up to scotland to buy a new engine for it off here.

Re: my road rally mk2

Did one more 12 car that year after my mate josh volunteered his girlfriend hannah to nav for me She had only ever done one road rally before me with josh so was a bit nervous She had done a fair bit of stage rallying though and coming from northern ireland she had sat with some quick boys including a very quick modified mk2 running over 300bhp

Her dad used to to take her out testing in the cars he prepared so she was used to going a lot quicker than i would ever be going

On the night she was spot on called everything well,struggled a bit on some bits of the plotting but got the hang quickly to finish 5th

Very good on a first event where most navs fail to make it to.the finish

my road rally mk2

Thanks gavin been meaning to start one for a while Even though ive messed up the years somehow

2015

Lost track of what was done when but a quick look at sone old regs put me right

Picture above was in 2015 got tye nee engine in over christmas and im the new year it was running.

Was hoping for the first 12 car of the year but the starter packed up the day before so didnt want to risk being stuck in the middle of nowhere.

Starter replaced with a high torque one made life much easier for starting and it could be fitted much more easily than the standard one.

Took it to bogg brothers in malton to be setup after spending a few hours changing jets etc he did a power run and the meter went up to 125bhp

Bit optimistic on this spec but the car was running and pulling well.

Only other change was a set of princess four pots which made a big difference to the braking andi the car was ready.

First 12 car i managed with hannah was in april. Goood blast round making use of the new engine. We could stoo abd plot knowing we could make the time up which makes life much easier for her. Think we finished 5th and first novice.

The next event was the berwick classic. A two day regularity rally with tests in between. Id spectated on this event many times so was very excited.

Unfortunately hannah couldnt make it as it was the same day as a stage rally she wws booked to do so instead my goid mate phil was sitting in. He does the northern tarmac championship in a ford puma and i service for him.

Drove up on the sat evening after phil had spent hours cleaning the car. Didnt tell hime most of it was on muddy tracks 😂

Didnt start well literally when we needed to be push started however once going we got through scrutineering fine and chatted to other competitors about what lat ahead, set the trip up to the measured mile and were nervous but ready.

Set off car 36 behind a lancia fulvia and straight into the first reg. Phil had never done these before so i was teaching him as we went. It worked quite well but we were slightly early at the first control. Doing 28mph is easy on tight roads but on the big wider roads you lose sense of your speed and its easy to get caught out.

First reg done was onto the first three tests First one went well this was the forst corner of the first test

This went well until i spun on one ofnthe hairpins but was quickly back on track.

Two more tests followed fine but leaving the last test the finish marshal told us there was a lot of oily smoke coming out of the back.

Not much we could do and the engine was still pulling well so we chose to ignore it and headed home for the night.

The next day started with breakfast and the traditial start in berwick town centre

Followed by a short drive up.the coast to torness power station and the first test of the day.

This went well 6 th quickest but still smoking had a quick look and it was burning oil but not much we could di about it so just carried on

Few more tests followed One around a mucky truck yard was great fun

Then on to one of the numerous farm yards

And then onto a field test which was hopless as it was so wet and slippy we couldnt get off the start line

Everyone got a maximum as it was taking so long to get round Great fun though

Then onto a regularity on a private road which was good fun Got boaked at the end though as it was rough in places and one guy in another mk2 was taking his time

My mk2 is fine over the rough so i sat on his bumper with the air horns going till eventually we got by over taking on the grass 😂

Then the sun came out at the finish

Phil wasnt best pleased after all the effort he put into polishing it 😁

Oil problem turned put to be a breather hose had collapsed internally So wasnt letting the engine breath.

my road rally mk2

Next event was the shaw trophy Similar type of event but no regs just nice drive in the country side and blast round some tests. Started locally in the town of morpeth.

Jess my partner was also doing this navigating for my mate josh in his proton whilst hannah his girlfriend was sitting in with me as usual. As you could enter as a team we entered under the name of team wife swap 😂😂

Started out well enough although miserable scrutineer didnt do much to calm people we set off car 16 behind my dad who was car 14 and josh at 6.

Off onto the road and the first two tests were cancelled because the land owner wasnt happy with the speed of the cars😔

So straight into the third test ran twice around a big farmers yard.

Didnt go well when we went round a cone the wrong way and got a maximum hannah didnt tell me or i would have reversed Still second time round and we were fastest that was more like it.

Next nice road section to belsay where a few tests were laid out on a clubmembers farm First one i was revved up so got off the line well flat in third to a stop astride reverse back and tried to j turn round Messed it up but still got round quick Slot left in to a big compound round a few cones Had the mk2 drifting nicely then came back out onto the main track too sideway with the rear end in the hedge Unfortunately for me there was a big concrete post hiding in the hedge which i hit

The car still drove ok and after the miserable scrutineer had a good nose around we carried on

Full of red mist now i set some fastest times and werent out of the top ten all day

The last loop of test were brilliant farm tracks about a mile long i went off on a ninety left then ninety right but just kept my foot in and rejoined the track and set another fastest time.

Josh had a great day to be 3rd overall and 1st modern We would have won had it not been for the wrong test Dad had a steady day to finish 19 or thereabouts

my road rally mk2

So over the xmas had a bit of spare time finished all the jobs off and took it for an mot

Passed no problem and alan the mot wad impressed when we took it up the road Despite the icy roads meaning the brake test was pointless😂

The to the first event of the year the january jaunt

Ran by hexam motorclub they do one once a month on wed night Except in the summer with the light nights

55 mile route of challenging navigation and had chris dodds on the maps who normally drives a very fast 205

He is also a very good nav competing on lots of events on both sides of the car

Went out for a bit of practice the night before finding none of my tyres would work in the greasy conditions and more worryingly the engine was breathing very heavy filling the catch tank after only a few miles 🤔

Too late to back out now i refilled it with oil and just made a plan to keep the revs lowish and see what happened

To the event itself the roads were still horrific so cold and greasy everyone was having problems but at least we stayed on the road

First section went well until we missed a slot and dropped two minutes

Carried mostly sideways and doing well only problem was when one of the marshals tried to take doddsys paper work off him 😤 And stopping at a junction to see a taxi on a late night run pulled out after him and doddsy made a comment about hoping we dont get stuck behind him Wasnt a worry as he must have been a local i couldnt keep up he was flat over all the crests and blind bends Needless to say i dont think he had a fair onboard😂

Got to the finish without problem to see we had dropped four minutes which was impossible as mick who started 3 minutes behind was on the next minute to us and they cleaned it In the end we were second behind mick so didnt bother chasing it. I was more worried about the engine No oil was showing on the dipstick and the pressure had dropped right down Put some more oil in and drove slowly home

So engine out for a rebuild

Was a great night and after a year long rebiuld the car was superb Even made the local paper

Although it says escort mexico which im sure will ryle a few purists up.

my road rally mk2

Originally Posted by cosworth4door

Looks good mate, I hope you keep updating this.

I would also like to get into it but have had major setbacks...maybe next year lol

Aye thats the way it goes normally When i couldnt compete i always used to marshal or sit in with other people just to keep the fire lit Just off to collect my wheels which ive had painted Then should be ready for the next event

Re: my road rally mk2

Berwick classic 2017

After finally getting my trip back from brantz after an upgrade and refitting it i took the car out for a small run just to check everything was working and had a mild panic when i loud knocking noise from the back was followed by the engine cutting out. Turned out to be due to the way the tank outlets are welded into the tank (one above the other that one of the fuel pumps runs dry if you run low on fuel. Simply turned the other pump on and normal service was resumed.

All was left to do on the friday was pack the service car (my girls mini) with all the usual stuff that i might break. not to far to go so couldnt be bothered sorting a trailer out, plus the car is normally reliable.

made it to our digs for the night with no problems after a nice cruise up the A1 enjoying the scenery and the sunset.

My nav for the event Josh Davison made is way up from wales on the sat morning and we went for a coffee in Berwick before heading out to do some practice regularities and set the trip.

all went well so we headed for scrutineering which was nice and relaxed had a lot of nice comments about the car from people who have been following me rebuilding it.

Parked next to my mate andy Beaumonts Rapier h120.

Chatted to the usual people and got signed on and waited for the first section to start.

Me and josh are best mates but havent sat in the car together for a long while so we were both a bit nervous to say the least.

Out onto the lanes for the first road section was good to settle the nerves nice flowing roads to wake us both up on.

got to the start of the first reg in plenty if time and went over our system one last time.

off into the first reg went well through lots of challenging lanes. speed set at 26 mph with a change after 5 miles to 24 mph doesnt sound exciting but trying to drive at a steady set speed watching the trip and remembering instructions all makes it pretty challenging and satisfying to get right. we were both a little rusty but only dropped a few seconds into the first control. carried onto the next end of reg control where we were spot on.

next road section was simple and led us to the next reg which stared on the road but then led to farm previously used as a test venue but this time for a change it as a a regularity set at 18mph. but because the test was so tight it was a flat out blast although a lot of people didn't realise this, including the start marshal, so we gained a lot of places here.

This was then followed by a test where i was disappointingly 2 seconds off the quickest and far too ragged, but didnt mange to hit anything.

then a steady drive back to the finish at a little village hall.

no results for the sat night yet so we headed back to our digs for a beer and a burger a the local pub in Norham.

resart on the sunday morning and we headed to Berwick Quadside for a bacon sandwhich at the start venue.

had a look at the results only to find we were way down having dropped stupid amount of time on one of the regs which was impossible. quried it and found after the first ten cars the clock had crashed but it had been rectified but not added to the results.

Also found out Andys Rapier had suffered head gasket failure on the way back to his digs so he was out of it and fellow club members the Elands had trailered their Alfa up from newcastle only to have left the keys for it at home so didnt start the sat night but would restart on sunday morning

fuelled up with coffee and bacon we headed up into the brilliant borders countryside to the first test around a farm yard. remebered it being tight from last time i did it and we arrived just to see car one blow its diff up on the start line.

so our turn gently of the line onto gravel and fast through the first set of cones got the hairpin spot on and get old red sliding round the barns nearly not stopping for the stopline. 3rd fastest was a good way to start the day. then onto the first reg wide awake quite a few speed changes in this one so we dropped the odd second but joshy was on the ball and our system was working well.

few more tests followed one went well until came to the finish on a sloping grass field and just couldn't get the car stopped for the finish (you have to stop astride the line) so got a ten second penatly.

few more tests which i couldnt get on with too tight and too much grip then onto one test that my dad was marshalling on which was good.

flat out down a long drag slot 90 right onto gravel drift in a big figure of 8 ( marshals said i was the only one to get it right ll day) then back out the same slot onto the concrete road through some fast and flowing bends locked up trying to brake for a tight chicane sliding the wrong way but came back in time through the chicane (just) and powered to the finish. brilliant test and quickest by 8 seconds .

theres a good video on facebook of this but i cant get it on here.

then few more tests that i cant really remember and onto a nice lunch at another village hall.

chatted with a few competitors abut how they were doing and checked the results to find we were leading by a few seconds but no penalties had been added yet.

next after lunch was a 12 mile reg all on gravel using the access roads to the windfarm. this was the highlight of the day for me. Josh was spot on with the route, i was managing to keep our speed on track, there were various code boards and tight not as map junctions so even thought the average was set at 28 you had to pushing on to keep to schedule. only had one moment when catching the car in front which then pulled a huge rock out and we had to take to the grass to avoid it. they took a wrong slot and we didnt see them again till the finish. we did well in here to only drop 11 seconds.

Then onto the final part of the day all the regs were done we just had to get through the final set of tests and we knew we could be on for a good result

headed to a big farm which was a good test flat out up the hill open slot left over a weighbridge hairpin right short straight 90l 90l round the back off the barn long fast left out of the farm yard big cut over the 90 right to the finish. another fastest time helped that i marshalled there last year

then onto east fortune race track where we were using the gravel track around the perimiter. off the line well into a 90 right through some nice flowing bends to a fast open chicane then another fast blast down the other side and just nearly caught the car in front on the stopline.

one last test followed another one i remembered well on dusty concrete lots of 90s that you could cut and just managed to stop for the stopline.

then a short drive back to the lacklustre finish venue.

after waiting for a really long time for mediocre luke-warm food and a warm beer at the finish venue which only had seating for quarter of the field

then a long wait for results which were all wrong

then an even longer wait for them to be rectified and then an even longer wait for these to be sorted led to most people leaving before the results.

after much arguing about test times etc we finally came out at 3rd overall

one of our times was still 10 seconds out but coudlnt prove it well enough to stand.

so a bit of a downer on a really good event just let down by the organisation at the finish.

but pleased to have gotten a good result on the first biggish event ive done since rebuilding the car which didn't put a foot wrong all day and took a hell of a lot abuse.

my road rally mk2

Not much progress been busy getting ready to move hopefully by the end of August we will be in and ill be busy decorating and garage building

Have finally got my revolutions stripped and painted bought three cheap last year and eventually found another one to complete the set

Painted and fitted with some old intermediate tyres I got given

Doing a charity day to support guide dogs for the blind Blind people and there family and friends get sponsored to go out in the rally cars and we try our best to scare them Normally a great day so looking forward to it just hope my gearbox lasts the day

Re: my road rally mk2

Would like to thank you for your posts, I find them interesting, informative and they encourage me to get on with my 4 door, Would like to do a little motor sport, probably to old but dreams cost nothing, and it keeps me away from the diy, gardening etc, Keep up with the updates.

Re: my road rally mk2

Originally Posted by garageman

Would like to thank you for your posts, I find them interesting, informative and they encourage me to get on with my 4 door, Would like to do a little motor sport, probably to old but dreams cost nothing, and it keeps me away from the diy, gardening etc, Keep up with the updates.

Thanks for that

I wouldn't let age put you off Lots of events these days can be done in a standard car cheaply and are great fun

A lot of the guys I compete against are older and regular beat us young boys